An Angel's Memory~Milly Callum

An Angel’s Memory


I walked silently through the crowd, every single person dressed in black. I had been to funerals before, but this one didn’t seem to make any sense. I realized now that every person on this earth has two funerals. But now that I see earth funerals like this, I think heaven makes a lot more sense. There was one similarity. My name kept being repeated...Milly Callum.

We rode home from Chic-fil-a in a moderately quiet atmosphere. Aside from the sudden outbursts of Cassy in the back seat of the car and the thunder outside, the car was silent. Lisa’s cell phone was still glowing in her pocket from where she had hung it up just minutes before. We had just gotten a call from mom saying that she had gotten another e-mail from Joe. We had all agreed that it would be better off not to know what it said. But it still worried us. We were just about tired of putting up with this mess. Wasn’t it bad enough that he’d finally driven us out of the church? Why did he have to keep harassing us like this.
As if reading my mind, Lisa answered my question aloud.
“He probably just wants us to know that we can’t escape him or something like that.” She laughed, and I looked over at her. How could she laugh at that? “He’s got this “Holier than thou” thing goin on.” She finished. I started laughing too.
Suddenly I felt the seat of the car seem to slide out from under me, and in a split second, we were spinning out of control. Lisa was desperately trying to slam on brakes and turn the wheel all at once. Cassy screamed and I heard her DS hit the floor of the van. The rear wheel of the van dropped into a steep ditch and the van flipped. I put my hands above my head, but my seat belt had already caught me. I heard metal grinding and then a loud crack. The back of seat had broken and been pushed abruptly forward. My forehead hit the dash board and the headrest went crashing through the front window. I barely felt the warm blood trickling down my face before I was slung back against the back of my seat. My head flung back and I felt my neck snap just before everything went black.

I shuddered and felt the place where the dashboard had made contact with my skull. I refused to let myself remember the pain. I did, however, let myself relive what had happened next.

When I opened my eyes, I didn’t seem to resting on anything. I was more floating than anything. I tried to sit up, almost sure I would be restrained by casts and IV’s, but it was surprisingly easy to work my way to a sitting position. I reached instinctively to my forehead. No bandages. I felt the back of my neck. No brace. Most surprising of all, the pain had subsided completely. In fact, I felt as though I had never experienced any pain in my life. But was this my life? It couldn’t be.
Before, I had never noticed my surroundings. As I spun my neck around the room, I noticed a small girl sitting just a few feet away. Her curly red hair seemed to be the only bit of color in the room. I slowly moved over to her. Her head was buried in her arms and she was holding her knees. As I came closer, she lifted her head, and I was able to take in her light features. Her face seemed familiar, like a memory from a dream. Finally I found my voice.
“Where am I?” Was all I could think to say at that point. She smiled.
“You’re on the first step of your journey.” She said in the voice of a child, but with a wisdom that seemed to be of God himself.
“Where are Lisa and Cassy?” I asked, not pausing to interpret her answer to the first question.
“They are still on the earth. Their angels are watching over them.” She answered.
“What do you mean, their angels?” My voice was gaining confidence every question that I asked.

“Everyone on earth has a guardian angel. They watch over you from the moment you are conceived, until you draw your last breath. We may appear to you, but only in times of desperate need. I am your guardian angel. My name is Alana.” The words struck me like a lightning bolt. I knew where I had seen her before.
“Alana. You…you were in the woods when I…when I ran away. You told me to go back home. You saved my life.” My eyes threatened to overflow with tears, but I fought to keep them back.
“It was not your time. Tonight in the car, you had had all you could take. There was nothing more you could take. But more suffering was coming. Worse times were ahead. He took you to protect you. That is why you are here.” She said. Tears were flowing from I eyes now.
“But why did they stay? If there’s worse times, why am I the one that should escape suffering, while they stay on earth?” I asked.
“The Lord will not push you beyond what you can handle. He is the protector. He saves those who cannot save themselves.” She said. I reached up to wipe my face.
“So what happens now?” I said. She smiled a warm smile.
“You must meet Him. He will answer questions I know nothing about.” She took my hand and led me to a magnificent golden gate.